The Press., 1887-11-10
ON SLEEPLESSNESS.
A BRIEF MEDICAL LECTURE IN AN
 ELEVATED CAR.

A Physician Discourses of Insomnia and Its Causes, and Gives Some Good Ad- vice-Severa1 Popular Notions Shown
 to be Erroneous.
 Two men were in an elevated car on l their way down town to business. The man next to the reporter turned to his neighbor with the question:
 Did you sleep any last night?'' ''No; did you?'
 ''I did, about three hours. When I woke up felt more tired than when lay down"
 "Yes, it's pretty hard this summer for people who have to stay in the broiling city. But from all I hear, the folks in the country are not doing much better. My wife's letters are full of musquitoes and sleeplessness.'
 "Gentlemen," broke in a man with gold ri1&ned spectacles, who looked the physician every inch of him, and around the corners of whose bearded mouth a humorous smile had been fitting during the dialogue, ttthls talk of sleeplessness proves how seldom people will take a medical mans advice, or even ask for it. It's so simple to induce sleep, with very little trouble, that every man of intelli- gence can obtain it unless he be very sick man indeed"
 ''Well, sir,'' rejoined the last speaker, If you will gratify our curiosity that far, tell us your remedy"
 ''As to mosquitoes my advice is: Kill them before you go to bed. Sleep where there is current of air and have mus quito netting around the bed, but leave yourself plenty of breathing space If suffering much from the heat, take cooling bath before retiring. I find, how ever, that this talk of sleeplessness comes in nine cases out of ten from persons of an undu1y nervous temperament. They hdget about and imagine beforehand that they will not obtain sleep instead of com posing their minds to properly receive the soothing influel ce.
 I'd. SEVERAL POPULAR ERRORS.
 "If given at all to sleeplessness do not smoke in the evening. and do not excite yourself. Lie down with the firm reso- lution to sleep, and sleep will come quite naturally, provided the body requires it. There's the rub. A great many people think there is cast iron rule as to the number of hours they ought to sleep. That's all wrong. Never try to sleep unless you feel tired and notice that your system wants iL. Four hours of sleep, under certain conditions, are more ben eficial to 8 man than the proverbial nine hours. I've had many cases in my prac- t1ce which have shown me the folly of expecting so'many hours of sleep night in and night out.
 Its the same with sleep as with food. The appetite varies, and so does the desire for sleep. Nature knows her business best, and when man cannot sleep he very often ought not to sleep A few weeks ago well known business man came to me and wanted Opiates to give him back his usual dose of sleep. I satisfied myself pretty soon that it would be only doing harm to comply wSth his request There was nothing troubling his mind, and his health was good. He simply had the notion that he didn't get sleep enough and had begun to worry about it. gave him 8 few simple rules to observe, and he soon had once more all the sleep that was good for him without using any poisonous mar cotics.
 ''Judging from my experience, the need of sleep is very different in different per sons, even among those of like habits and equally good health. know very active business man, a patient of mine, who re- quires but six hours sleep, while another one needs all of eleven hours out of the twenty-four.''
 ''City hall and Brooklyn bridge" shouted the guard, and everybody scrambled for the door, while the audience murmured: "Much obliged for the lecture, doctor. "-New York Commercial Adver. tiSer